In the Middle of the Last Century…

In the middle of the last century, not a few authors reminisced nostalgically about the belle époque, lamenting a general deterioration that ranged from art to everyday life, from opportunities to customs, from quality of life to personal relationships. In most cases, the lament came from authors who had lived through the period as children, and therefore added to the context the memory of their fondest childhood memories. The next generation, born in the post-war period, who grew up listening to their parents’ stories of memorable times gone by, are today the ones who nostalgically recount the customs that have been lost, the opportunities that abounded and the environment that is gone. Curiously, the generation that is coming of age today, if it does not yet regret the golden days of yore, can already safely assume that it will only be a few years before it begins to do so, in view of the current degradation, both visible and widespread. What to say?